NAD Hosts First Adventist Urban Congress

By Frank Bondurant

About 200 "urban practitioners" from all across the North American Division (NAD) and beyond recently attended the Adventist Urban Congress. This meeting was truly historic in so much that it is the first gathering of its kind—a congress wholly dedicated to understanding city-based ministry. The NAD-sponsored event was held at Oakwood College in Huntsville, Ala. 

The theme for the event was “Transforming the City: Urban Ministry in the New Millennium.” Participants were blessed with practical presentations from top presenters including our own Monte Sahlin, director of research and special projects for the Ohio Conference; Minnie McNeil, ACS director for the Columbia Union and the Allegheny East Conference; Gaspar Colon, PhD, professor of theology at Columbia Union College (CUC) and current interim president; and Zdravko Plantak, PhD, CUC religion professor and Theology Department chair. 

The Columbia Union was also well represented by its conferences, including more than 40 pastors from the Allegheny East Conference. According to Sung Kwon, NAD ACS director, "The meeting was an outstanding success.” He also reported that the NAD is also planning to sponsor another urban congress in 2009. 

Cities are the great center of God's redemptive efforts in Scripture. Within the Columbia Union territory, there are 10 of the 25 largest metropolitan areas in the United States. The mission field is here in our midst. It’s time to get serious about reaching our cities for Christ.